


How To Make Things Better

by Kaiyou



Series: Scions and Sake [9]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Children, Growing Up, M/M, Vampire Politics, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 12:19:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9548774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiyou/pseuds/Kaiyou
Summary: Kenma was seven when he first came to terms with how precarious his family's position was, and how easily everything they had could be taken away - or worse. It was then he decided to do everything he could to gain the power to make sure that never happened. Some games are riskier than others, though - luckily, he doesn't have to do this on his own.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is Kenma's backstory, which will hopefully put some things in context.

Kenma could still remember the moment when he’d known things were going to get worse before they could ever get better. 

He’d been young, around seven years old. He’d been attending a funeral of a family. He didn’t remember the name of the family; it hadn’t been mentioned and had since been blotted out from the records. They had been a vassal group in service to an elite house, he knew that much. Most of the larger families in Tokyo had gathered at the funeral. None of them were there to grieve.

Well, on the surface that was what it was, of course. The entire family had been wiped out though, so there was no one to receive the customary gifts except for their sponsoring elites. Everyone acted like they were ignoring the fact that the head of the elite house was probably the one who had ordered their deaths - or, at the very least, had given permission for it to happen.

Mika had been there, he remembered that. Their families were rivals in business and so they got together more often than Kenma had liked. He remembered that she was loud and fussy and smelled far too sweet. Her cousin Kuguri had been tolerable, though.

Quiet.

Fukunaga had been with him too, his quiet shadow. And Kuro - 

Well.

Kuro had been new then, a birthday present. Kenma suspected it was probably a message from his mother that he needed to go outside more because the human was continually trying to drag him out to play. It had been strange, having a human. Even the terminology had been strange.

But it was only the first clue Kenma had had to really understand how sheltered he’d been.

~~~~~~~

“Ugh, this is so boring. Why do the humans get to play outside and we’re stuck here in these stupid suits?”

“Yuuji stop being so rude!”

“Hey, you’re not supposed to talk to me like that, Hana-chan!”

“I will if you won’t settle down!”

Kenma was stuck.

He was surrounded by other children. That was the first problem. He didn’t have his Gameboy, that was the second. It was only a small consolation that Fukunaga didn’t have his either; Fukunaga spent hours telling himself stories in his head so he didn’t really need it for the distraction.

Normally, he’d try to find a spot against the wall. It would make him the least obtrusive, the least likely to be noticed. But they were in a corner, and he recognized the boys on either side. Both of them had curly black hair. Princes. The prince of the Akaashi family and the prince of the Sakusa family. Both intimidated him.

He’d found a spot by the window where he could look out and watch the human children. Kuro was out there fighting Daishou again. They always got into it. 

“Man, I wish I had that human, he looks cool!”

There were two kids Kenma didn’t recognize standing next to the window, one a very loud dark-haired boy and girl that was evidently his shadow. Another boy with short blond hair came up and stood beside the first.

“Which one?” the new kid asked.

“See, that one there! He’s totally kicking that dude's ass!”

“Yuuji!” the girl hissed.

“I wonder whose he is,” Yuuji said, looking around. “He’s just a kid, so he probably belongs to - hey! You’re watching him, do you know?”

Kenma shrank back, not wanting to get involved with the other boy and his intense eyes. Fukunaga huffed as Kenma knocked into him.

“Hey, I asked you a question!”

“Stop being so rude!”

“Sheesh, what a weirdo,” the blond said. His eyes were cruel as he stared at Kenma like he was wanting him to break down. Children, Kenma decided, were horrible - especially if they had power. He recognized this guy. Not by name, but as one of the Sakusa prince’s shadows. The other two were hanging off of the dark-haired boy, though they were all starting to draw closer to the disagreement.

“I don’t -” Kenma started.

“Wait!” said a voice Kenma did not want to hear at this moment. “That - isn’t that your human, Kozume?”

Turning his head, Kenma schooled his face so he wouldn’t glare. Glaring was exactly what Sakishima wanted. “Oh. I didn’t realize he was talking about him.”

“The one with the messy hair that just shoved dirt into that guy’s face? Man, what a loser.”

It wasn’t the least bit satisfying that Sakishima’s jaw clenched at that. From the way his eyes narrowed, it was likely he planned to take revenge right there and then. “Yeah, that’s him. He belongs to Kozume. Not sure why; they don’t seem to get along at all.”

“Really?” Yuuji said, voice bright as he turned to Kenma. “You don’t like him? Can I have him then?”

Kenma sucked in a breath at the question, fear blossoming in his stomach.

“Stop it, Yuuji! Sheesh, you don’t ask questions like that, even if you are a prince!”

“But Hana, he doesn’t like him!”

“Still -”

“Kozume, Kozume,” the blond said, looking crafty. “Hey, isn’t your family a vassal of Terushima’s?”

“Eh?” Yuuji said, looking between Kenma and the blond. “You are?”

“We’re independent,” Kozume said, lips cold as he shrank back.

“Oh, but is can any lesser family really say they’re not dependent on at least one elite house?” the blond replied, looking around the room.

There was an implicit threat in his words. A threat that had nothing to do with some sort of grudge, like Sakishima, but everything to do with just being young and powerful.

“Atsumu, what are you doing.”

The blond whipped his head around. “Just watching the humans, Sakusa-sama.”

“Why?” Sakusa asked, eyes flitting briefly over the humans beyond the glass. “They’re disgusting.”

“Eh -”

“I believe the Kozume family is also closely associated with mine,” said a new voice, one Kenma wasn’t familiar with. “Also, I find the idea of trading humans to be abhorrent. They are not property.”

“Completely correct, Akaashi-san,” said Hana. “See, Yuuji, that’s why you shouldn’t even ask.

“But!”

Akaashi. The other boy was thin, just a bit taller than Kenma. Even Sakusa looked a little taken aback by him, though. Everyone knew the rumors about how Akaashi had been born from one of the ancients. 

Beside him, Kenma could feel Fukunaga shaking.

Internally, he agreed. Akaashi and Sakusa were staring at each other. It made Kenma all too aware of the fact that he was the least powerful one in the area - well, apart from the shadows, of course. 

And the humans.

“Sorry I’m late!” cried a new voice. “Are we having a party over here? You all know it’s a funeral, right?”

“Ah! Oikawa! I was hoping you’d show up!” Yuuji said.

“Hey, Teru-chan! Have you seen my nephew? Isn’t he the best thing? Ow! You aren’t supposed to bite me.”

The sight of another prince’s arrival wasn’t exactly a welcome thing, even if it was just Oikawa carrying Takeru. Miracle baby, some said - proof that the Oikawa’s were more fertile than the other houses, said others. Normally children were things carefully planned for and conceived with great effort.

At least, that’s what Kenma’s mother had told him.

Oikawa’s arrival did break up the staring contest, though.

“Atsumu, come,” Sakusa said, turning around to walk back to his corner. The cruel blond followed, winking at Kenma as he went.

“If you wouldn’t mind joining me, Kozume-san,” said Akaashi.

He did mind. He minded quite a bit. He didn’t know this kid - but it was better than the alternative. For the moment.

When they got back to Akaashi’s formal spot against the wall, Akaashi said, “I’m supposed to be social at these things.”

“Ah,” said Kenma, glancing over at Fukunaga to see if he was ok. He was staring down at his fingers, seemingly lost in his own world again. Probably not, but that was neither here nor there.

“You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to,” said Akaashi, looking at the rest of the party guests. “You can leave if you wish. I just - you looked uncomfortable.”

Kenma wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

Oikawa was looking their way, the flash of something canny in his eyes before he turned to smile at Yuuji and Hana. Mika had come up to them, attracted by the baby. It was better that way. Sakishima’s eyes were fond as he looked at her, much better than the way he’d looked at Kenma.

“No,” Kenma said, shrugging as he looked back at the adults. “This is fine.”

Akaashi nodded, leaving him to his thoughts.

The idea that someone would take Kuro away from him was a very troubling one. It wasn’t true that he disliked Kuro, even if he did try to force him to be too active. Even stranger was the whole idea of trading whatsoever. Akaashi was right, humans weren’t property - not really. But his mom had called Kuro a gift. What if Kuro didn’t actually want to play with him? But -

No. Kuro would tell him if he didn’t want to do something.

He’d already said he wasn’t comfortable giving him blood, which was fine with Kenma. Yaku had teased Kuro about it when he’d found out, said he was just freaked out because of some horror movie they’d watched. Kenma didn’t care why, though. He’d been drinking bottled blood most of his life, he didn’t need to switch now.

No, Kuro liked spending time with him. No need to worry about that.

But legalities or not, Kenma was suddenly sure that what Terushima had asked was probably not that farfetched an idea. Did families trade humans like gifts? 

Well, if lesser families could be wiped out by a word from the elites, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. 

His gaze had unconsciously strayed to his mother, wondering if she worried about these things. She looked over at him and gave him an encouraging smile, eyebrow lifted in inquiry as she glanced at Akaashi. He shrugged, watching as she started working his way.

A man stopped her when she was a few meters away from them. “Ah, Kozume-san, so nice to see you this evening. We weren’t quite sure if you’d make it.”

“Of course,” she said. “Such a tragic loss.” She looked faintly nervous, smile tight. 

“Yes, it really is too bad,” the man replied, reaching out to pat her back.

She didn’t like that. She didn’t like people touching her.

“How is Nekomata doing these days, by the way?” the man asked.

Nekomata. Kenma didn’t know that name. He filed it away to ask about later. 

“Oh he’s fine,” she answered, smile gaining a bit more confidence. “We shared a drink just last week. Such a delightful man. So wise. Should I tell him you inquired?”

“Ah, no, that's quite alright,” the man said, dropping the hand from her back and looking around. “Is your son here? What does Nekomata think of him? Ah, I didn’t realize he was friends with the Akaashi boy.”

“I wonder if he realizes we can hear him,” Akaashi murmured suddenly.

“Probably not, if he’s referring to you like that,” said Kenma.

“Maybe,” Akaashi said. “I think he’s one of the Oikawa’s though.”

“I see.”

“Who’s Nekomata?” Akaashi asked.

“I’m not sure,” Kenma answered. He'd find out, though. He seemed important.

“Hey, is this a private party, or can I join in?” asked Oikawa, voice softer than before as he walked up to them. “My brother took Takeru back, and I got bored of whatever it was they were talking about.”

“You are welcome to join us, Oikawa-san,” said Akaashi.

Kenma nodded, looking back over at the window. Terushima and Sakishima were talking animatedly about something, and the girls were deep in conversation as well. Slightly terrifying, but at least the weren’t bothering anyone else. He caught sight of Kuguri hovering at the window looking out at the humans, probably longing to be out there with them.

Well, either that or at home in bed.

Kenma wasn't the best of friends with him but he did admire his work ethic.

“So you’re Kozume?” Oikawa asked.

Nodding, Kenma said, “Kozume Kenma. You can call me Kenma if you’d like, though.”

“Kenma-chan? Hmm, no, Ken-chan?”

“Oikawa-san,” Akaashi admonished.

“Ken-chan it is! Your human is the bomb! He and Iwa-chan were talking outside. Are you joining us at school next year? You’re a year younger than us, right?”

Akaashi huffed.

“It’s fine,” Kenma said, holding back a smile. 

He didn’t know them. Knew they were both princes, knew they were powerful and dangerous. Akaashi was kind, though, and Oikawa seemed decent so far. Loud, but decent. Also, they both seemed to get along with each other without giving Kenma the feeling they were holding knives behind their backs.

“Oikawa-san, have you determined what you wish to do for this year’s cultural festival?”

That led into a conversation that Kenma had no knowledge about, which left him free to just listen while he mused about his thoughts.

Akaashi was definitely kind.

For the moment, he felt safe.

But looking back on the events of the past few minutes, he came to realize how precarious that safety really was. He’d always known his family was rich and somewhat powerful, but it was clear now that they weren’t powerful enough. Even if Akaashi and Oikawa were treating him like they were all equals, they weren’t.

Not really.

Not yet.

And so, a seed was planted in his mind.

~~~~~~~

“Come on Kenma! Stop being so slow!”

Frowning, Kenma let Kuro drag him up the walk to the old, traditional house. His chauffeur thought it was funny by now. Even Fukunaga was laughing in that soft way of his.

“I'm coming, Kuro, sheesh.”

It was hard not to be happy when Kuro was so happy, even if Kenma didn't understand what was so exciting about visiting another vampire.

The fact that Kuro had known this man before he knew Kenma had nothing to do with his jealousy.

“You'll love him Kenma! He’s great,” Kuro said, knocking furiously on the door. “He always teaches us how to play games and has candy and his foster - ah - oh hi, Naoi-san!”

Kenma looked up at the man who had answered the door. A human, with short black hair and a warm smile.

“Kuroo! It's been too long. Taketora has been missing you. And you must be Kozume-san and Fukunaga san.”

Kenma bowed in greeting, giving Kuro a sharp look and walking into the entryway as he was invited in. He slipped his shoes off, glancing around briefly before looking back at his human.

“Taketora?” Kenma asked, making a face at the sheepish look Kuro gave him. 

“Ah, I might not have mentioned him,” Kuro said, scratching the back of his head as they followed Naoi down the hall. “Um, it’s no big deal -”

“KUROO!”

The door in front of them slid open with a bang, and a boy with a bright blond strip of hair on the top of his head looked out, eyes shining. 

“Dude! It’s been months!”

“Taketora-kun, you should be quiet. Your sister is still sleeping, right?” Naoi asked, rubbing the boy’s head with a fond smile.

“Oh! Oh yeah, sorry, ah -”

Kenma peered around him into the room. It was a large traditional room with tatami mats and sliding doors on the far side that probably led out to a porch. In the center of the room, there was a little girl curled up on the floor, head resting on the leg of an old man who was sitting in front of a shogi board.

When the man turned to look at them, Kenma knew instantly he was a vampire.

A very, very old vampire. 

“Hey, Nekomata-san!” Kuroo whispered, stepping into the room and bowing.

Nekomata’s lips twitched. “It’s fine. I believe our dear Akane is awake. Aren’t you dear?”

Pouting, the girl pushed herself up and yawned, stretching. “No fair, Ojiisan. I was going to fall back asleep.”

She had long blond hair caught up in two poofy pigtails. Now that she was awake, she turned and looked at them curiously, pushing up and running to cannonball into Kuro.

“Tetsu!” she called out. “Where have you been?”

“Hey, Akane,” Kuro said, smiling down at her. “I told you I was moving. I got a job!”

“A job?” the girl asked.

Kenma frowned. He was a job?

“Yeah,” Kuro said, kneeling down in front of her. “I get to protect the most important person in the world.”

Eyes wide, Kenma stared down at Kuro, not sure what was going on in his head. 

“Most - more important than me?”

“Well,” Kuro said, looking up at Kenma, “In his own way.”

The girl had turned to look at Kenma as well. He didn’t know why she made him feel nervous. She was just a human, after all. 

A human Kuro obviously cared about. 

“Who’s your friend, Kuroo?” Taketora asked, looking at Kenma as well. 

“This is Kenma! He’s awesome! Dude, Yaku and I have been teaching him how to serve - he’s still clumsy but he’s getting better.”

“Woah, cool, you should come play with us!”

Suddenly a small hand shot up, grabbing at Kenma’s hand, and everything shifted. Fukunaga pulled Kenma back away from the girl, hissing at her as Taketora pulled his sister back away from them both.

“It’s ok, it’s ok!” Kuro said, waving his hands.

“It’s fine, Fukunaga,” Kenma said, patting him gently before kneeling down to get onto the girl’s level. “Sorry, he keeps me safe. He’s not used to people touching me.”

“Oh,” she said, not frightened in the least. “Does Tetsu-kun touch you?”

Blinking, Kenma said, “Sometimes.”

Often, if he was honest. It had taken some getting used to.

“Huh. You’re a vampire too, aren’t you? Like Ojiisan?”

Kenma nodded, looking over at Nekomata with a trace of fear in his heart. The old man - 

If the girl was his, and Fukunaga had hurt her -

But he was just sitting there unconcerned, watching them all with a calculating look like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Kuroo," Nekomata said, "why don’t you take Taketora and Akane out and play for a while. They’ve been missing you. Hmm, take the young vampire - Fukunaga, correct? - as well.”

“Eh?” Kuro said, looking down at Kenma. “Uh, do you want to -”

“It’s fine, Kuro,” Kenma said, getting to his feet and nodding at Fukunaga. 

He’d be fine. Safe, at least for the moment. This Nekomata person could probably kill them all with barely a thought - but he was friends with Kenma’s mother, and evidently cared about two human children.

Kenma was interested in seeing what he had to say.

The other children went out the sliding door into the yard, Kuro giving Kenma one last look and a thumbs up before closing the door.

“Would you like something to drink, Kozume-san?” Nekomata said.

Pondering the offer, Kenma crossed to the table where Nekomata was sitting. “A bit would be fine,” he said, looking up as Naoi exited the room.

“Have a seat, if you’d like. Do you play?”

Kneeling, Kenma nodded. 

“Do you have a preference?”

“No, sir,” Kenma said, watching as Nekomata set up the pieces. 

For a few minutes, they just played the game. Nekomata was good. Better than most of the people Kenma played against. It meant Kenma lost the first game, and then the second, but he didn’t actually mind because he was learning.

It was fascinating, really.

He barely noticed when Naoi put a small teacup of blood next to him. Sipping occasionally, he watched as Nekomata made his moves, trying to discern the older man’s strategy.

“You don’t like to sacrifice your pieces,” Nekomata observed after Kenma’s third loss.

“Hmm. I guess not,” said Kenma, frowning. 

“It’s hard to win if you aren’t willing to give something up.”

It was true. 

Kenma finished his cup as Nekomata set up the board again, glancing outside as he heard Kuro yelling in triumph.

“Would you rather be out there?” Nekomata asked. 

“No,” Kenma said, letting a small smile cross his face. “It’s fine.”

“You get along well with Kuroo, I take it?”

Nodding, Kenma turned his focus back to the game. “He’s - well. Kuro is kind.”

“Hmm,” Nekomata said, taking the opening move. “He’s always been like that. Also very energetic. Smart, though.”

“Yes,” Kenma said, trying to focus on the game.

“Your mother said you haven’t taken blood from him?”

Shrugging, Kenma moved a piece. “He doesn’t like it.”

“Interesting.”

Glancing up at Nekomata, Kenma wondered what lay behind his eyes. Did he think Kenma overly sentimental for not taking blood from Kuro? Probably not. He kept two human children, and they seemed perfectly fine. “Are Taketora and Akane your humans?” Kenma asked.

“Technically, they are, yes. Their parents passed away when they were young. I had Naoi arrange for us to take care of them.”

Take care of them.

Frowning, Kenma tried one of Nekomata’s earlier moves, seeing if the old man would take the bait. “Mother hasn’t told me much about you.”

His mother had actually told him next to nothing about Nekomata, just sent him off with a fond admonition to behave. It was easy to see why the vampire at the funeral had been nervous about the name. The more he studied him, the more Kenma thought Nekomata was probably the oldest vampire he’d ever seen - well, oldest sane vampire, anyhow.

“Do you mind if I ask which house you belong to?” Kenma asked, watching as the old man took the bait and countered with a move that Kenma had not expected.

Frowning, he considered his moves, plotting out the possibilities in his head.

“Yours,” Nekomata said.

Kenma looked up at him, surprised. “Ours?”

“Well, technically. I don’t really belong to a house. Didn’t really like this whole house and council nonsense when I was younger, thought it was a waste of time.”

“Oh,” Kenma said, trying to wrap his mind around the concept. 

Wait, did Nekomata mean -

“I thought it was just some uppity idea that a bunch of kids dreamed up to try and act all important when dealing with humans. Never should’ve taken off.”

Oh. Yes. Nekomata was older than the council. That -

“Huh.”

Kenma made a move, barely focused on it. It was only after Nekomata huffed that he realized it had actually been a very good move, setting up the perfect capture of a silver general. Then he did let himself smile, focusing back on the game.

They played several more times that evening. Kenma didn’t win at all. At times, however, he did come close.

“You play well, Kozume-san,” Nekomata told him at the end of their time together. “I enjoyed your company. You should come more often.”

“Thank you, Nekomata-sama,” Kenma said, bowing. “You can call me Kenma.”

“If you'd like, you can just call me Nekomata, Kenma-san.”

Lips twitching, Kenma watched as Naoi herded a sleepy Taketora and Akane back toward their bedroom. Kuro looked tired as well, coming over and throwing an arm around Kenma’s shoulder. “What did I tell you? He’s great, isn’t he?”

Kenma nodded, glancing shyly up at Nekomata to see how he took this.

He was thoughtful, but not judgemental.

That was good.

Perhaps Nekomata would be someone he could trust. Kenma thought of the gold general, thought of the plan that had been forming in the back of his mind, a plan with a goal but no strategy.

In Nekomata, perhaps, he could find the strategy he needed.

~~~~~

“Your playing has improved quite a bit over the years, Kenma,” Nekomata said, sitting back from their board.

“Thank you, sir,” Kenma said, pleased with his second win in a row. 

Kuroo was outside playing again. Yaku was there this time, and a couple of vampires Fukunaga knew had started coming with them as well, ostensibly to help guard Kenma but everyone knew better.

Well, everyone did try to protect him - even Tora. It was minorly annoying at times, especially at school. Kenma would rather have just stayed in the background, out of everyone’s notice.

Fortunately, he got to eat lunch with Oikawa and Akaashi now that they were all together in the same junior high. Next to them, it was easy for Kenma to fade away from everyone’s notice. Made it easier to observe everything around him.

“You like winning, don't you?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Kenma asked, setting the pieces back up.

“Not everyone,” Nekomata said, taking a sip from his cup. “Not everyone chooses to play the game.”

Ah. 

Glancing up, Kenma studied him for a brief moment before turning the board to give Nekomata the first move. They weren’t talking about shogi. Then again, they probably hadn’t been talking about shogi for a while.

“I heard you suggested extending an offer to one of the Russian associates,” Nekomata said. 

“It seemed hospitable.”

“Yes,” Nekomata said, smiling. “Very hospitable indeed.”

Good. Nekomata approved.

“Why do you play, Kenma?”

Kenma found his eyes involuntarily drawn to the group of kids playing outside as he tried to formulate an answer. “To win, I guess.”

“To win?”

Yes. That was true. To win.

But also -

“To protect things.” He found he had a lot of things he wanted to protect these days. A lot of people. “You can’t protect things if you’re weak.”

Nodding, Nekomata picked up one of his silver generals, turning it over and over in his hands. “So you want to be stronger?”

“Yes.”

“What are you willing to sacrifice to win?”

Chilled, Kenma looked at the gold general in Nekomata’s hand. “I won’t sacrifice that which is most precious to me,” he said, glancing back toward the yard again. “That would be pointless.”

“Good,” Nekomata said, laying the piece down. “However, sometimes you need to use your best pieces to your advantage, even if it means putting them in danger.”

Best pieces.

He meant Kuro. Kuro, and Fukunaga, and Kai - all of them. Swallowing, Kenma nodded. He knew it was true. Hated it. Wished he could take on all the risk himself -

But that wasn’t how the game was played. Besides, if the king fell, the game was lost.

Two more years and he’d be done with junior high, and then high school. And after high school -

Then, he knew, things would really get dangerous.

“I have an option you might want to consider that might help,” Nekomata said. “Depending on how you feel about Kuroo.”

“You know how I feel about him.”

Kuro was the center of his world. The most important person in his life apart from his mother - and even then, he sometimes wondered.

“You’d have to start taking his blood,” Nekomata said.

“He doesn’t like it.”

“He needs to get over his fear. You all will, in order for what you have planned to succeed.”

True. That was true, and Nekomata had never lied to him before.

“When I was younger,” the old man said, “I only had one person I wanted to protect, and that was enough. But now...”

“Now?”

“Now, I find I may have started caring a bit more than expected. I suppose it’s a good thing. A sign my heart is still young.”

Kenma nodded. “Are you going to start playing?”

“This round is a young man’s game - well, young woman’s as well, I suppose.”

“Ah,” Kenma said. That was true as well. Oikawa, Akaashi, Terushima, Sakusa - and others, too. All lining up to jostle for advantage in the coming years. He and Mika-chan had been born for this too, with the others in their families there to support them.

Kenma wasn’t sure how the game would play out, but he knew he was going to play to win.

“Tell me about your idea.”

~~~~~~

Kuro was trembling in his arms as they sat in the dark of Kuro’s bedroom. 

Kenma swallowed, hands careful as they gripped Kuro’s shoulders and pulled him back against his chest. 

“It’s fine, Kuro, it’s fine. I won’t hurt you.”

Kenma always hated this, but Nekomata was right. They had to share blood for this to succeed.

“I trust you, Kenma,” Kuro muttered, leaning his head back and turning to look at him. “Just - be quick?”

“I will be,” Kenma murmured, waiting for Kuro to lean his head forward before dropping down and sinking his fangs into his neck. He held on tight, ready for the little jerk Kuro always gave at this juncture. The blood was rich and salty. It was always so strange the way Kuro relaxed against him once the euphoria took over. Enough. He had to take enough, but just enough - there.

Licking the skin, Kenma pulled back, sliding his arms around Kuro as the human leaned back against him. “Done,” Kenma said, frowning at the paleness in Kuro’s cheeks. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” Kuro said, shaking slightly. “Gets easier every time.”

He was a liar, but Kenma loved him for it.

“I’m sorry, Kuro,” he whispered.

Shifting, Kuro looked at him, dark eyes soft. “No need, Kenma,” he murmured, raising an unsteady hand and cupping his cheek. “This is for me, after all, right?”

“For both of us,” Kenma muttered, feeling selfish.

“For all of us,” Kuro said. “And it means I get you, right?”

“Yeah,” Kenma said, leaning into the hand. 

Always.

Always, and for as much forever as they were given.

But that was a worry for another game.

“Nap with me?” Kuro asked, yawning like he always did after these sessions.

Smiling, Kenma nodded, letting Kuro pull him down onto the bed. Hands slipped around his waist. Kuro was warm as he snuggled closer, nuzzling the back of Kenma’s neck.

Present. He should be more present for moments like this. His mother had told him about the importance of appreciating the moment.

“I’m going to bite you if you don’t relax,” Kuro murmured.

That made Kenma laugh, closing his eyes. He sucked in a breath, tongue tasting the last few drop of Kuro’s blood on his lips. “Fine, fine,” he murmured.

This was necessary, and the results would be very useful to their success in the game. Nekomata was fairly sure no one would even see it coming.

Plus, it meant Kuro would always be his. Forever.

Even better, in a way - Kuro wanted to be his.

This would be worth it. Things were going to get harder. Things might even get really bad, he knew - but it would get better in the end. He’d be powerful. They would be safe.

He’d do everything he could to make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully it's clear after this - basically, the main children of the elite houses are called "princes" - their parents aren't literally kings and queens, ofc, but they do rule vast empires of business and social connections. From this story, Terushiima, Sakusa, Oikawa, and Akaashi are princes. There are others, but they'll come into play later.
> 
> The next big arc will be Bo and Akaashi's (probably), and I also need to fit Daichi and Karasuno in here soon too... but I thought it might be good to have at least this groundwork for Kenma in play.


End file.
